Two years after its launch, we take a look at how Start-Up India Action Plan has fared, what has been done right and what needs to be done.
The Start-Up India Action Plan, a comprehensive set of reforms and policies to encourage entrepreneurs to pursue innovation-based enterprises was launched in January 2016. Income tax exemption for a finite period, assistance in compliance and regulation, patent-filing rebates, funds from a Fund-of-Funds worth Rs. 10,000 crore, single window clearances, and MoUs with educational institutes and industry leaders for providing support and guidance were some of the features of this ambitious mission that also aimed at fostering creativity, innovation, economic growth, and job creation. But there is a need to look back and evaluate the performance of this much-hyped program.
Going strictly by the number on the Start-Up India website, till date 5,650 start-ups have been recognized and only 75 funded. Most of these numbers have, however, been achieved during 2017. In the first year of the program, of the 1,368 applicants, only 502 were recognized as start-ups, and further, only eight early-stage start-ups were considered for tax benefits. Furthermore, the ‘Status Report’ published in October 2017 states that of the Rs. 10,000 crore Fund-of-Funds, Rs 605 crores have been granted to 17 Alternate Investment Funds (AIFs), which have funded the said start-ups.
Stumbling blocks aplenty
Despite the ambitious policy to support entrepreneurs, a closer look reveals several obstacles in the path of an entrepreneur from actually availing the potential benefits on offer. The first set of criticism and questions arose after the completion of the first year of the Action Plan. The government came out with a ‘status report’ which stated that 502 start-ups had been recognized, the Fund-ofFunds set up, and incubators and tinkering labs identified. The process of recognizing a start-up was put under scrutiny as was the criteria for being eligible for tax benefits.
This story is from the January 2018 edition of People Matters.
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This story is from the January 2018 edition of People Matters.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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